MLB Elevates Negro Leagues to Major League status

It would be a gross understatement to say that 2020 has been a year we'd all like to soon forget, and for purposes of this blog, the sport of baseball is not exempt from that.  First and foremost, Erik and I had our Tour 2020 trip cancelled and I did not see a single game in person this year for maybe the first time since I was in kindergarten.  I would also argue that MLB and the players union handled the pandemic worse than any other sport.  Justin Turner showing zero regard for human life and running onto the field like an idiot to celebrate with teammates while knowingly being infected with Covid pretty much sums up the season in one moment.  The long-rumored MiLB overhaul and trimming was also finally announced a few weeks ago.  Even though this was anticipated, it was still a sting to over 40 minor league communities throughout the country, and I certainly plan on writing a post on it after all of the dust settles.  But to close out this disaster of a year, I choose to reflect on the one positive story to happen in baseball this year: Major League Baseball elevating the Negro Leagues to Major League status.

I will admit that my immediate reaction - and I'm sure a lot of baseball and statistics fans reacted the same way - was what will happen to all of our hallowed records?  Would Josh Gibson's fabled 800-homer career move him past Barry Bonds as the homerun king?  Would there be a player that would finally approach the long standing games played or single season batting average records?  Where would this put Satchel Page among the all-time greatest pitchers?  Selfishly my first reaction was to yet again be angry with Rob Manfred unnecessarily throwing a wrench in baseball tradition.  But after I thought about it some more, it is so clear and obvious that this is not only the right thing to do, but long overdue, and I was more than a little ashamed with myself.  If MLB can include statistics from the Federal League and several other 19th century leagues, then there is no reason that the Negro Leagues should not be included.  It was not any of these players fault that they were relegated to the Negro Leagues instead of deservedly playing in the "major leagues."  Simply because of the color of their skin, we will never know where some of the all-time great Negro Leaguers would stack up against their white peers had they played together, but they can now at least be compared statistically.

As a part of this announcement, all of the stats from what historians have determined to be the major-league Negro equivalent leagues and games, which amounts to a total of six leagues between the years of 1920-1948, will now be included with MLB historical statistics.  This announcement also coincides with MLB's planned 100th Anniversary celebration and recognition of the Negro Leagues, which is probably not a coincidence.  For those of you hoping that Hank Aaron or Josh Gibson would now surpass Barry Bonds as the career homerun leader, Aaron played for the Indianapolis Clowns in 1952 which is after the 1948 cutoff date, and only 238 of Gibson's homeruns were deemed to be "official."  The vast majority of his homeruns, which some legends put at over 800 or even 1,000 in total, were hit in exhibition or "barnstorming" type games.  The Negro Leagues were also considerably shorter seasons than Major League seasons, which has a dramatic effect on career total accumulations and is just another unfortunate reality of all this.

As Buster Olney says to close out every Baseball Tonight podcast, "hate and inequality based on skin color is something we must fight against every day."  Nothing can ever undo the injustices of a century ago, 50 years ago, or even today, but there are always steps we can take in the right direction towards a positive change, and this move by MLB is one of them.